Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-08-05
DAILY HERALD,
FAT GIRLS IN MAINE.
Nassers who Offer n Marked Con.
trast to Their Mother.

FAT UlhLo IN mAINE'
~s~s.r. wno Osser n marked Com
trast to Their Mother.
A correspondent sends the following
from Thomaston, Me-: As we rode
along. nv companion told me OF the
wonderful pair Of what might be
called physical prodigies who lived
little further down the road. They
were young girls, he said, whose
weight was something marvellous, and
whose fingers were az numerous as were
the hands of Briareus. The father
and mother of the prodigies were we'll
known in the town, and the children
had created a great deal of interest.
The father was Edward Heisler, a
farm hand. In few minutes we had
ratified over a grade crossing on the
Knox and Lincoln railroad and the
horse was pulled up before a much-di-
lapidated farm house. A lot OF hay
WAS making in the front yard. There
being no other way to get to the door we
tramped over the fresh-cut grass.
Through the open window, in room
that appeared afterward to be the sit
ting-room, we could see one of the pc
culiar girls. At first sight she looked
as though she would weigh 300
pounds. She held palm leaf fan in
one hand and q piece Of unbleached
cotton cloth In the other. The ian
she was lazily swaying to and fro, and
with the cloth she was mopping the
perspiration from her face.
Was it hot enough for her?
Well, rather. Outside the July sun
was baking up the vegetation and
making the highways and the sur
rounding country look like Sahara.
Around the shady side of the house it
was 81 degrees. In that " front room"
with the sun pouring his hot rays into
il, it certainly was ITO degrees.
The girl said that the hot weather
annoyed her very much. "But you
ought to see my sister" she continued,
''it just kills her."
Presently the sister and her mother
came in. From the appearance OF
the girls freshly watered head and
the newness of her gingham gown l
suspect that the delay had been
caused by fixing up.
Was she prodigy?
Well, should say 50; that is ply
sically.
In what way?
First, because she is formed just
like the deformed sister, who is three
wears younger. They both have
Twelve fingers and twelve toes; one is
II and weighs 247 pounds; the other
is IA and weighs 219 pounds; the
elder is 78 inches bust and 81 waist
measurement the other is 50 and 46
respectively.
The mother is a thin, cadaverous-
looking creature whose weight can not
he more than ninety-fve or one hun
dred pounds at the most. The father
il small in stature and exceedingly
gaunt and lean.
The popularity iu the abnormal de- |
velopment Of the hands is in the fact
that the extra finger on each hand
and the extra toe on each foot are
identically in the same place, and
instead of growing parallel
with the others, grows at right angles
to them. This of course prevents
them from wearing either shoes or
gloves. A Maine surgeon who heard
of this peculiar phenomenon had the /
girls brought to him, it being his in
fention to amputate tine extra fingers
and toes.
He etherized, or attempted to ether
ize, the elder girl first. She inhaled
it quite readily, but he was surprised
to see that she did not yield to its in
fiuence. The contents of pint bottle
were gradually applied to towel, but
the magnetic sleep came not, and the
doctor was forced to give up the at
tempt to perform the operation.
II felt numb" the girl said. i'll
speaking of the affair, "but l couldn't
go to sleep. 1t made me feel as if l
was going round and round, and there
was rattling in my ears, but l was
awake all the time"
To the physician and to the patient
who has ever been etherized this
symptom will appear very natural.
Until l had seen those girls l never
had realized what misfortune it was
to be fat. One of the girls never went
to q school in her life; the other was
able to attend only for few weeks.
The school house is not more than a
quarter of a mile away; nevertheless,
neither of them could walk that dis
tance, and as consequence they have
grown up without the least particle of
education.
"They are almost entirely helpless"
the mother explained, "and can do
very little for themselves except eat"
''What do you live on?" | asked.
"They never have anything better
than salt fish, potatoes and white
Bread" the mother answered.
As none of these are very great flesh
producing articles, the query naturally
Il, what makes them 50 fat?
The next question is, if they are as
fat as this now, how fat will they be
when they have grown three years
elder?
Neither girl ever rode in buggy,
because she coul not get into one If all
the wealth of Ormus or OF Ind were
offered her; they never dance or
jump rope, and as for roller skates
These they have no earthly use for.